A community Remembrance Day parade is back on after businesses and the community rallied round to help out with road closures.
Organisers of the parade at Stechford War Memorial feared they would have to cancel it after local police told them they were no longer allowed to man the barricades .
The memorial will be the venue for two commemorations - one aimed at local schoolchildren on Friday, November 10 and a wider community parade at 11am on Remembrance Sunday, November 12.
The historic memorial, built in 1920, is at the centre of the Albert Road roundabout and requires the traffic to be diverted for half-an-hour.
Two weeks ago the Birmingham Mail reported that the event was at risk after the police, who had informally closed the roads for decades, had been told by bosses not to.
But now local engineering firm Parade Civils of Tyseley, has stepped in to cover costs of traffic management company A Star who will ensure safety. The city council had already agreed to waive the administration costs. Other community groups have also stepped forward to offer their support to the event.
Cllr Neil Eustace (Lib Dem, Stechford and Yardley North) said: “Parade Civils will fund the road closures and A Star will manage closing the roads. With the council waiving its charges the Sunday parade can go ahead as normal. This is fantastic news and I thank everyone who has helped save the day. The issue has worried us all as no one wanted to let Stechford’s fallen heroes down.
“Let’s now work to make this years parade better than ever.”
West Midlands Police has instructed staff that they are only allowed to close roads in an emergency and that for pre-planned events, like this, it is up to the organisers to make the arrangements.
